Egypt strongly condemned, on Thursday, the demolition of two houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem by the Israeli forces.
“The current attempts to displace Palestinian families from their homes in the neighborhood of “Sheikh Jarrah” represent a violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL),” the Foreign Ministry of Egypt said in a statement, affirming that such acts may inflame the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Ahmed Hafez, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed Egypt’s firm position on rejecting the settlement policy, whether through establishing new settlements or expanding existing ones, as well as displacing Palestinians.
Moreover, he reiterated that the continuation of these unilateral measures undermines the chances of reaching a two-state solution in order to establish a comprehensive and just peace in the region.
In the same vein, the Palestinian Presidency also condemned the demolition, considering it a war crime that the Israeli government bears responsibility for its dangerous repercussions.
In a statement on the US administration, the presidency called “to shoulder its responsibility and immediately intervene to stop these continuing Israeli crimes against our people in Jerusalem, specifically in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” calling for the speedy provision of international protection for the Palestinian people “who are subjected to a policy of racial discrimination that the world has never seen the like before.”
It added: “The demolition, displacement and intimidation of the citizens in Jerusalem that the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is witnessing puts the Biden administration and its obligations to the test, and translating its words into actions, and this is should be done by putting pressure on the Israeli occupation government to stop its policy of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, and to spare the region more tension and escalation.”
